Automatic oil-stoker.



WQF. GOODWI N & G. DAWSON.

AUTOMATIC OIL STOKBR.

APPLIOATTON FILED MAY 20,1911.

Patented Aug-13, 1912.

UNITED s'rATEs PATENT orrion.

WILLIAM F. GOODWI'N AND GEORGE DAWSON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

no'roivmrrc OIL-STOKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 29,! 1911. Serial No. 630,043.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco andState of Ca1i fornia, have invented new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Oil-Stokers, of;

which the following is a specification.

-This invention relates to oil controlling apparatus, and particularlyto an automatic oil stoker for oil burning furnaces.

The object of the present invention is to.

provide a device for automatically regulating the amount of oil fed toburners beneath boilers; to provide a stoker adapted to so regulate andcontrol the fuel oil and neces sary' steam for atomiz'ation to one ormore burners as to maintain a steady steam pressure on the boiler withinthe limits of its" capacity or at a certain degree; and to provide as-toker involving a novel arrangement of valves, and to operativelyconnect the same in a practical manner. I

An important object of the present invention is to provide means wherebythe valves will operate automatically and in unison in a frictionlessmanner, and which will be efficient, strong and durable and quicklyadaptable to control the flow and feed of oil to burners of both theinside and outside Oil burners include two distinctly different c1: ssesknown as inside and outside mixing' b-irners. In the former the oil andsteam are mixed in an interior chamber within the burner before it isdischarged;

and in the outside burner the oil and steam are mixed just beyond thetip of the burner after discharging from the same,

The present invention is designedto be quickly operable, and elfectiveto control the mixture and pressure of steam and oil in either of theabove mentioned burners.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combinationof parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, havingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which--- Figure 1 is acentral, longitudinallsection through the stoker. end of the stoker asarranged for controlling Fig. 2 shows the steam w the supply of steamand oil to inside burners.

The stoker, as illustrated in the present I embodinment of thisinvention, consists of the oil end or section 2, and a steam end ormember 3, .bolted together. by aflanged bridge or head 4, disposedbetween the oil and steam ends. The oil end 2 is provided with aconnection 5, to which may be coupled an oil supply pipe 6, connected toa suitable source of supply from which oil is delivered into theconnection 5 under suitable pressure, say, for instance, seventy pounds.

The flow of oil from the connection 5 into the interior of the oilsection 2 is controlled by a double shouldered valve'7, seating uponupper and lower seats 8. 'Upon the stems or reduced portions of thedouble shouldered valve are connected upper and lower diaphragms 9andl10, which form within the interior of the oil end 2 a chamber 11from which the oil is .delivered after itpasses through the valveopenings within the seat 8 into a discharge or delivery pipe 12, leadingto the burner or burners, not shown.

When the valve 7 is opened, the pressure of oil from the source throughthe connection 6 flows into the chamber 11 andlexerts an equal forceupon the diaphragms 9 and I0, There is interposed below the diaphragmand between an adjusting device, here shownas a screw 13, a powerfulspring or equivalent resilient device 14, the presssure of which againstthe diaphragm 10 is a determined by the adjustment of the screw 13. Thepressure of the oil admitted past the valve 7 into the chamber 11 is noteffective upon the spring 14, but the spring is reactedupon by thepressureof steam from a boiler, not shown, conducted into a chain: ber15 through a suitable connection, as a pipe 16, above theupper'diaphragm 9 and below the bridge or head 4. Thus with a givenboiler pressure, say one hundred and fifty pounds, in the controllingchamber 15 above thediaphragm 9, and with the expansible spring 14adjusted to approxi mately equalize the pressure in the chamber 15,1atthis equalization of forces, the valve 7, controlling the flow of oilfrom the inlet side of the oil end into the delivery chamber 11, becomessensitive so that a, slight in-' crease of pressure of steam in thecontrolling compresses the spring 14, thus cutting off v hundred andfifty pounds,

the flow of oil. I

When for any reason the steam pressure in the controlling chamber 15becomes'lower than the average desired pressure of one the expansiblespring 1 1, acting against the stem of the valve 7 lifts the latter andadmits a larger quantity of oil to flow through the oil inlet into thedelivery chamber 11 and thence to the burner.

While this stoker is designed to operate in conjunction, with burnerswherein the atomization of the oil is accomplished by the agency ofsteam, it may be used with equal facility where the oil is atomizedthroug' the agency of air or other compressed fluid. In the presentadaptation the oil is delivered to a burner with a certain proportionedvolume of steam, which volume is controlled automatically by thevariation of pressure of oil on the delivery side in the chamber 11 ofthe stoker. This control of steam supply is obtained by mounting in thesteam end 8 of the stoker, a suitable device, here indicated as a.double shouldered valve 17 seating upon upper and lower seats 18,through which steam is conveyed through an inlet connec tion 20. Whenthe valve 17 is lifted from its seats 18 the steam, which may be at,say, one hundred and fifty poundspressure, flows past the valve 17 intoa steam chamber 21 formed within-the steam end 3, above a diaphragm 22,which is connected to the lower end of the stem of the valve'17. Be-

low the diaphragm 22 and above the bridge member 4 is provided a chamber23 into which oil passes through a port 24 and a passageway '25, whichleads into the delivery chamber 11, at the oil end 2. Thus whenever theoil controlling valve 7 has been elevated to permit oil to flow into thechamber 11, this accumulation of oil gradually passes forwardly throughthe port 2 1 I and passageway 25 into the upper oil chamber 23, belowthe to the valve 17 I In-what are called inside burners the oil andsteam are delivered at equal pressures. In the outside mixing burnersthe oil and steam are delivered at different pressures;. a veryefficient mixture being obtained when the two pressures in the latterinstance are relatively three of steam to one of oil. This constantratio of pressures is obtained in the present stoker by attaching to theupper end of the steam control valve 17 a diaphragm 26, which in thepresent instance diaphragm 22. connected in the chamber 15 anced area ofthe diaphragm the is shown as being two-thirds of the area of the lowersteam diaphragm 23.

When steam has been admitted into the delivery side of the'steam end 3intothe chamber 21, it passes from thence upwardly through a port 27,into a chamber 28 beneath the diaphragm 26, attached to the upper end ofthe valve 17 The operation in the stoker thus constructed to control theflow of oil to .outside mixing burners is as follows: Assuming that theaverage working pressure to be maintained in a boiler is one fiftypounds, this pressure is led directly beneath the bridge member 4:; intothe chamber 15 above the oil controlling diaphragm 9, and the spring 14-is then adjusted to approximately balance the desired pressure of onehundred and tifty pounds in the chamber 15. When from any causewhatsoever there is a variation of pressure hundred and above or belowthe average'in the chamber 15, the oil relatively its seats '8 andincrease or decrease the volume of oil flowing into the delivery chamber11, as governed by the increase or decrease of pressure in thecontrolling chamber 15, so that if the steam pressurefalls below onehundred and fifty pounds the spring 14 will expand and .move the valve 7upwardly away from its seats 8 and permit a larger volume of oil to passto the delivery pipe 12; This increase in the volume of oil, flowinginto the chamber 11, causes an increase of pressure in the oil chamber11 and also in the chamber 23, so that the pressure 1n the latterchamber becomes effective against the diaphragm 22 to lift the valve 17and increase thevolume of steam flowing past the valve 17. When thestoker is to control the flow of fuel and steam to an outside burner,pressure in the chamber 21 will normally be three times the pressureexisting in the oil chamber 28 below the diaphragm 22. This is for thereason that the unbah 22 over the diaphragm 26 is equal to one-thirdthat of balanced area, thus making it necessary that an excess of theratio three to one will be necessary before the steam pressure inthe'chamber 21 can seat the valve 17 When the stoker has been set goingwith an operative steam pressure of ninety pounds in the steam deliverychamber 21, the operative pressure in the oil chamber'23, below thediaphragm 22, will remain normally at thirty pounds. Thus when alargervolume of oil is delivered into the chamber 11 an increased pressureaccumulates below the diaphragm 22 and thus lifts the valve 17 to admita 'larg'er volume of steam to the discharge or delivery side 21 of thesteam end 3. It will then be seen that the ratio.

controlling valve 7 will move of oil to steam is constantly maintainedat practically three to one; W hen an increase -sure is effective todepress the valve 7 and tend to cut off a volume of oil passing from theinlet side of the oil end 2 into the de livery side or chamber 11. Conseuently, a reduction of pressure of steam in the controlling chamber 15makes a proportionate increase of pressure in the chambers 11 and 23.This increase of pressure inthe latter chamber permits the pressure ofsteam in the chamber-21, above the diaphragm 22, to lift the steamcontrol valve 17 and let in a proportionate amount of steam. The actionof the stoker is thus very sensitive and constantly automatic, and thedifferential areas of the diaphragm 22 and the diaphragm 26 serve tomaintain a constant proportional ratio of three to one between the oiland steam delivered to the burner.

The valve 7 is balanced against the pressure on the feed sideof the oilend, and is also balanced against the ressure on the de-' livery side ofthe oil en by reason of the equality of the areas of the diaphragms 9and 10, thus rendering this valve free from frictional resistance orother causes and rendering it sensitive only to variations of pressurein the controlling chamber which is directly connected to the boiler.Any variation of pressure in t-he'boiler is directly indicated by amovement of the valve 7;

Any movement of the valve 7 is automatically indicated by a movement ofthe valve 17, due to variations of pressure in the chamber 23.which isin direct communication with the delivery pressure chamber 11, so thatthe volume of steam delivered through the Stoker is always controlledonly and directly by means of the oil valve 7, which in turn is actuatedby variations'of pressures in the controlling chamber 15.

In order to eliminate any possible vibration of the steam valve 17, itsupper stem is slightly reduced and surrounded by a packing or frictioncreating device 29; just smficient friction being exerted upon thevalvei stem to prevent 1t from moving or rattling upon its seats 18.

Theforego'ing portion of this specification has referred to the deviceas being erected for a controlling of oil and steam delivered to outsidemixing oil burners, but the device may be quicklyand easily adiusted tocontrol theflow of steam and oil to inside mixing burners. Thisadjustment merely requires theremoval of the sup orting honnets 30, inwhich is mounte the upper diaphragm 26 ';'the bonnets being 'connectedto the upper steam end 3 by screw threads, or other appropriate means;When the bonnets 30 have been removed a plug 31, indicated in F ig. 2,may be inserted into the screw threads in the upper portion of the oilend 3, thus leaving the steam controlling valve 17 provided with onlyone diaphragm 22, which willthus become sensitive to move I the valve 17when there is any variation between the-pres'sures above and below thediaphragm 22, since in inside mixing furnaces the oil and steam'aredelivered at approximately even pressures and thereby when the pressuresare uniform in the chambers 21and 23 in the stoker, no movement of thevalve 17 will occur, but any variation in one or the other of thechambers will cause a"movement of the valve 17 to permit a reduction orincrease in th.volume of steam passing through the steam end of theburner.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. An automatic stoker for controlling the supply offuel to a burner,comprising an oil chest or end, and a steam head, said Oll chest havingflexible diaphragms at opposite portions inclosing an intermediatecham-.

diaphragms forming a wall of the steam chamber of said head and being atoneend of the valve, and a device adjustable against the other end ofthe'valve adapted to counterbalance a given pressure in the steam headagainst the firstnamed diaphragm.

2. An automatic stoker for controlling the supply of fuel to a burner,comprising an oil chest or end, and a steam head, said oil chest havingflexible diaphragms at opposite portions inclosing an intermediatechamber, a double-shouldered valve operable within the oil chest, saidoil chest having alined spaced seats for the shoulders offisaid valve,'anoil pipe entering said chest" between said seats, a discharge pipeleading from said oil chamber, one of said 'diaphragms forming a wall ofthe steam chamber of said head and being at one end. of the valve, aspring at the other end of the valveand bearing thereagainst and adaptedto counterbalance a given pressure in the stea head, and a screw foradjusting the tension of said spring.

3. An automatic stoker for controlling the supply of fuel to a burner,comprising an oil chest, a steam end, and an intermediate steam headforming the connection between the oil chestand steam end, said headhaving upper and lower chambers and a side passage communicating withone of the chambers, a steam pipe entering the other of the chambers ofsaid head, said oil chest having a chamber connecting through saidpassage with the first-named chamber of the steam head, said steam endhaving an inlet and an outlet, and having a double ended valve with adiaphragm at each end, one of the diaphrngms forming a Wall of the firstnamed chamber of the steam head, and said steam end having double seatsfor the valve,

the valve in the steam end being actuated. the delivery side by thepressure of oil on oft-he oil chest.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto I WILLIAM F. GOODWIN. GEORGE mwsonWitnesses:

CHARLES EDELMAN, Jos. J. MAHONE

